


Drunken reveries and mixed signals

by LadyAlenkoVasRutherford



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, Flirting, Heavy Drinking, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, doubts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 20:33:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12638649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAlenkoVasRutherford/pseuds/LadyAlenkoVasRutherford
Summary: Shepard can take on anything, but when it comes to pursuing her heart's desire it's a whole new ball game.





	Drunken reveries and mixed signals

**Author's Note:**

> I decided I needed some more James Vega in my life and came up with this. I welcome constructive criticism and am open to any suggestions you would like to pitch in. ^_^ Enjoy!

### Cocktails, shots and a smoking gun

Steve Cortez double paced it to the lounge right after receiving Shepard's memo for him to meet her there a.s.a.p. They'd become close over time - especially after she talked him into letting go of the guilt he felt for not being with Robert when the collectors hit the colony where they were both stationed - and so she would call on him from time to time to vent some of the worries she refused to share with the rest of the crew, even long time companions like Garrus, though it was well known that she and the Turian were real tight.

The halls seemed almost deserted as he strode through, they were well into the ship's night-cycle and pretty much everyone had retired for the night. When he arrived, Shepard was leaning against the bar nursing a cocktail which much resembled a slightly jellified version of a red martini, immerse in her own thoughts. She looked at Steve over her shoulder and beckoned him to her side as he locked the door behind him as he always did on their late night talks and made his way to the stool beside her.

"You look tired. Something you want to share?" 

There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a long black disheveled mess cascading down her back as if she hadn't brushed it in days. He reached out to tuck a stray hair strand behind her ear until she finally broke out of her reverie.

"I could use some company Steve, you know just how much I hate drinking alone."

He smiled at her and motioned toward the half-filled pitcher on her end of the counter. 

"So what's your poison there?" 

"Weeping heart. Which ironically sounds just befitting right about now. Want one? It's good, I promise, though I'm not sure what the Drell venom might do to you." She slightly rolled her eyes, her words a little slurry already.

"Nah, I'll stick with tequila, but thanks for the offer Shepard. You sure that thing is safe or even sanitary?"

"Nothing is safe right now Steve and you know just how much I like living dangerously. Having had a Drell boyfriend also helps. I built up a slight resistance to the substance, though I still get to see the pretty lights." She smirked, wide-eyed, wobbling her head for emphasis. "Not half as much fun without Thane involved though."

He thought he saw a glimpse of sadness behind Shepard's dark eyes at the memory of her late boyfriend, though her smile never faltered and he couldn't help but laugh whole-heartedly at her silly retort. He finished pouring four shots in front of himself and downed the first one before cutting in. 

"So, you are getting your ass drunk and high all at once. How many of these have you had already?"

She shrugged at him and exhaled deeply. "I may have stopped counting after seven, dad."

"Can't blame a man for worrying about his friend, can you? Not with the prospect of a promising hangover anyway." He winked at her and reached out for her hand before prompting her with the million credit question. "Now tell me, why are we getting hammered tonight?"

Shepard shifted uncomfortably in her seat, studied the bottom of her newly drained glass for a while as if weighing whatever was eating at her brain. She seemed conflicted and that was saying the least. At last, her reply came along with a much needed refill. 

"I'm a complete mess, Steve. I just lost my boyfriend; Kaidan's been hounding me around, trying to "reignite" whatever there was between us before he treated me like shit back on Horizon. We never put a label on it back then and honestly that memory takes me to a place I never want to be in ever again in my life, though I won't deny that he did make me happy at some point. I keep rebuffing him but still he keeps pushing his luck." 

"Somehow, I'm sensing a "but" in there somewhere along the lane." - He teased her and drank another shot while she kept nursing her drink.

"Everything still feels kind of raw, you know? And what's worse is that the "great commander Shepard, hero of the Citadel, blah blah blah" failed to see this coming. And miserably!" - She wobbled her arms in the air almost theatrically, spilling a few droplets of her cocktail over herself, hinting at her increasing tipsiness. "He is such a handsome devil, Steve. So damn hot, I'm having a hard time focusing when he is around."

"That bad, huh? He is a very charming guy and a powerful one too. Cheers to your fine taste in men!" - He raised his glass to her and downed it as she kept on babbling. 

"Having to keep my shit together around him is... hummm... crap! I know, redundant as a Krogan's system, right? But he is just so... mouth-watering?" 

Shepard rolled her eyes and rested her head on her hand as if she was picturing something good enough to eat in her mind's eye. Steve chuckled, listening patiently at her drunken musings while refilling his own glasses. 

"And those muscles are just as appetizing as a peanut-butter filled chocolate with my name written all over the place. Sometimes I just feel like licking that ink off of his neck..." She licked her lips and trailed off dreamily. 

Steve almost choked on his drink as his brain slowly pieced together what she had just said. 

"Whoa, hold on right there for a sec, Shepard. Ink as in tattoos?" - He was incredulous. - "I thought you were still ranting about Kaidan!"

She looked at him sheepishly and chewed at her bottom lip, her face flushed. 

"The issue was about James the whole time or am I missing something?"

She shook her head in silence, her cheeks increasingly reddened like a love ridden young maiden from the vids. That could be the cocktails, the topic or everything combined. His eyes widened and his expression shifted from puzzled to a beam of pure light. She drained her glass and refilled it, the sudden realization of her confession slapping her right in the face in waves. There was no turning back now, though her lips opened and closed a few times before she could utter a word.

"He was my sole company for months on end while I was in the brig. Sometimes he'd slip me a bit of tequila and some real food to boot. He said it was to make my life a little less miserable."

"So, our illustrious Mr. Vega cut his way into your well vaulted heart through your stomach by the sound of it... There are stranger ways to win the heart of another if you ask me."

"Laugh it up Steve... his food was an added bonus against the cafeteria crap they serve us. I honestly don't know when it started, but I get annoyingly gooey when he is around and a longing mess when he is not. It just pisses me off to the point I just want to barf at myself! He is a witty, handsome guy who showed me nothing but kindness even though he had no real reason to."

"Wait. Let us not forget the wickedly shameless flirt part."

"Yeah, point! He keeps deflecting me though, so I wonder if he can walk the walk, because talk, that he has a whole lot of."

"You are sooooooo screwed my friend!" He grinned at her, looking genuinely amused by the whole situation and downed yet another shot.

"I so am not..." She retorted, sticking her tongue out.

"But you and I both know you'd love to be..." Steve replied and she playfully punched him on the shoulder.

"True, my panties drop whenever I catch a glimpse of him doing pull-ups completely bare-chest. I don't know how you manage to keep your focus, sharing the same space with him 24/7."

Steve shrugged casually, the smile still lighting up his face "The eye-candy is actually a welcome distraction. I spend so much time tinkering, procuring, organizing inventory that sometimes watching him exercise feels like a vacation. Seriously though, maybe you should call him on his bullshit and see what happens."

"I don't know, Steve. I do want him but with all my relationship history and recent events, wouldn't that make me look like a floozy?"

"A floozy? Now there is a word I hadn't heard in a long, long, time! Nah, I think it makes you just human. Besides, if you're worried about unwittingly using him as a rebound guy, I might point out that your feelings for him started growing over time, before Thane's death and Kaidan's return, you said so yourself. Damn you woman, if I were to pit you right now against a thresher maw on foot, I'm sure you wouldn't so much as wince, but when it comes to chasing after your heart's desire, it's a whole different matter."

Shepard leaned in against his shoulder and put an arm around his waist. "I know you Steve. Now you're calling me on my bullshit, but it doesn't make it any less true. Give me a gun and point me in the right direction and I will come up with whatever it takes to accomplish any given task, but this... "She sighed deeply as Steve draped an arm around her shoulders and felt grateful for the comfort seeping through her from such a simple gesture of genuine affection. 

"Yeah well, you know what, Shepard? Life is giving you plenty of lemons. If I were you, I would grab the salt and the tequila and get started on those Margaritas." He winked at her knowingly and caressed her arm as they both made to drain the last of their drinks. "I should tuck you in before you start drooling all over my shirt." Shepard tried to stand on her own, but as it turned out, her legs didn't seem to obey much, nor did her brain for that matter, she started feeling like jello, the sodding effect of sponging alcohol while seated, so Steve scooped her up in his arms and made for the elevator. By the time they arrived in her cabin, she had already drowsed against his chest.

He laid her down on the bed and helped her out of her sweat pants and socks, leaving her in her tank and smalls and bent to kiss her forehead before making his way back to the shuttle bay. Half-way across the room, he heard her mumble a "thank you" before passing out completely. He was sure she was in for a rough morning in more ways than one. A smile dangled from the corner of his lips. His two best friends were interested in one another, though James himself would never admit to it to be sure, because of the damn regs. Still, he wasn't about to sit idly by, not after Shepard's drunken confession. Oh no, Steve Cortez was a man with a plan and plenty of resolve. Now he just had to hope no one got in his way.


End file.
